Charlotte clearly looked like someone who understood dance perfectly.
So why was she so unwilling to actually perform it herself?
"That's about enough time. One last run-through."
Charlotte glanced at her watch. She had less than thirty minutes before Anthony arrived to pick her up.
One more run was the perfect amount of time.
Fifteen minutes later.
The music stopped.
Everyone stood frozen in place, staring silently at Charlotte, waiting for the final judgment to drop.
It was time to kick people out.
"Originally, the choreography for Kenneth's lead single was structured for ten people." Charlotte tilted her chin up. Under the bright studio lights, her bare, makeup-free face glowed with a luminous radiance. Her voice was raspy but clear. "But after this week of evaluation, I think... we can expand the roster to twelve."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, the girls, who had been staring dejectedly at the floor, violently snapped their heads up. They stared at Charlotte in absolute euphoria, barely able to process her words.
"But..."
While the routine they had just learned was foundational, perfecting it into a masterpiece would easily take half a month.
Recklessly adding two people meant the entire formation and synchronization would be thrown into total chaos.
With Kenneth's album launching in less than three weeks...
Scrapping the original choreography and completely re-staging it in such a short window...
It felt utterly impossible.
"Don't worry, I have a plan." Charlotte offered a faint smile. Her lazy tone betrayed absolutely zero panic, projecting a calmness that was almost terrifying. "The final dancer count for the lead single is officially locked in."
"Starting tomorrow, we're going to rearrange the formations. You already know the moves, so the adjustments will be minor. There's no need to stress over this."
Hearing Charlotte's absolute confidence, the anxiety gnawing at the girls' hearts instantly smoothed over, replaced by calm.
"Thank you, Charlotte. We promise to practice as hard as we can."
The girl standing at the very front spoke softly, her eyes rimmed with red.
She knew the truth.
She was the weakest link in the entire squad.
If someone had to go, it undoubtedly would have been her.
Charlotte had noticed it from day one.

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